There is good news for Hope,a horse stranded since June 16 on the rocky bed of the Mandakini with not a blade of grass to graze on.

Hours after The Indian Express reported about its plight,and also that of thousands of animals left to fend for themselves in the devastated Himalayan regions,a team arranged by the Animal Welfare Board of India flew from the Guptkashi Nala helipad to where hope was stranded in Sonprayag and dropped food.

It didn’t seem he could walk much but almost cantered towards the food when he saw it dropped, said Kamna Pandey,Co-op Member Animal Welfare Board of India,Ministry of Environment & Forests.

A veterinarian was also in the chopper.

“All attempts,by NGOs and even the Army,to save Hope by building a temporary bridge to him have failed,” Kamna had said. Hope could be seen from Sonprayag. Not a single chopper had dropped food before today and the horse was exposed to incessant rains and chilly winds for three weeks,she said.

There are many Hopes ( Uttarakhand: Humans safe,who will rescue the animals?). More than 2500,half of which are starving without food or water,now near death. There hasn’t been an aerial recon of the area to know here horses are stranded. The choppers are leaving the area,the Army is now slowly moving out.

Gauri Maulekhi,Member Secretary,People for Animals Uttarakhand,has also criticised the Uttarakhand government for leaving the animals behind.